Louisiana faced epic flooding on Monday, with seven people killed and thousands evacuated to emergency shelters after waterways in the southern part of the state overflowed their banks.

Some areas have received more than 500 millimeters of rain since Thursday, submerging vast swaths of southern Louisiana in muddy waters.

"Our state is currently experiencing a historic flooding event that is breaking every record," Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in a statement late on Monday.